Previews

ASH

Spiffy:

Iffy:

Ugly, ugly bitmap sprites; Touch screen-only controls.

The theory making its rounds around the game industry is that Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi was asked by Microsoft to come up with the equivalent of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest for the 360, which spawned the already-released Blue Dragon -- a fantastic title, by the way -- and Lost Odyssey, which has yet to be released. It makes sense though, considering Sakaguchi is what many people believe to be the father of the modern JRPG. So it's a little bit surprising and refreshing to see that Mistwalker's second title after Blue Dragon is far different from his big-budget console games. Archaic Sealed Heat (ASH) is a noble mixture of strategy RPG and traditional JRPG elements which has some interesting results.

In the world of ASH, Aisha, the Queen of Millinear, has her entire world changed forever when an ancient power escapes from its seal and assaults her castle. The fiery dragon beast destroys everything in sight and leaves nothing but ash, with Aisha the sole survivor. However, in a twist, the ashes surrounding Aisha suddenly transform into her former compatriots, who have retained their memories and are still fiercely loyal to her. Thus, with her companions by her side, Aisha sets off in search of the mysterious beast that ravaged her kingdom, to seek answers to her questions.

In contrast to Blue Dragon, ASH plays out more like an SRPG with traditional JRPG elements blended in, and it makes for a powerful and unique combination. Players can form units of three characters each, with a key member leading each unit. When units encounter an enemy, the screen shifts from the traditional SRPG grid system to a JRPG-style screen, where you can select your traditional attack, item, arts and run commands. Of course, selecting which members will join what unit is one of the key elements of ASH. You'll feel the urge during the beginning of the game to favor Aisha's unit, since she's the central character, but it goes without saying that decreasing the overall power of your other units will lead to some problems in the future.

The bit about all of your minions being made out of ash comes into play too; once your characters are strong enough, the unit leader can destroy them and absorb the abilities they have learned into their own body, thus making them even more powerful. It's a cool little twist in the system that makes the game far more entertaining because everything is made very personal. This isn't a game like Disgaea where you have tons of units on the screen at once. You have your core set of characters, who are often related to the main storyline, and you have to nurture and build them up and decide whether to burn them or keep them.